“I particularly noted a regular practice of not re-examining the
fundamental assumptions underlying a theory once it gained ‘accepted’ status,
almost no matter how incompatible some new observation or experiment might
be.And I saw powerful vested interests
in a ‘status quo’ develop around certain accepted theories.”

Tom
Van Flandern

Description of the Experiment

The next experiment
to be discussed is the Hafele-Keating ("H-K")
experiment of 1971, which was introduced in the first chapter.In this experiment, the location
of the "at rest" observer (i.e. "at rest" reference frame
or coordinate system) is much more significant than it was in the SLAC.This is because the velocities of the
objects in the H-K are no where near the speed of light, thus unlike the SLAC,
the location of the "at rest" reference frame is very important.In fact, the velocity of the objects in the
H-K is slower than the rotation velocity of the earth.

Hafele and Keating
flew four cesium atomic clocks around the world in commercial jet airplanes;
first all 4 clocks were flown eastbound around the world, then they were flown
westbound around the world.

After the
experiments, Hafele and Keating published two articles in the same issue of Science.In the first article, there are detailed
predictions of the time changes in the atomic clocks due to both kinematic (SR)
and gravitational (GR) affects. It was impossible to make these predictions
until after the experiments were completed because they had no way of knowing
in advance how fast the jet airplanes would be flying or at what altitudes they
would be flying, etc.

In the second article
they have the actual data of the experiments.In this article it was impossible to segregate the actual time
differences in the clocks between gravitational and kinematic (i.e. velocity
and direction) affects because it was impossible to have separate clocks
measuring separate effects.Thus their predictions
include a separation between the gravitational effects and the kinematic
effects, but their actual data cannot make this separation.Here is the predicted data, based on the
actual jet airplane flight data:

Predicted
Data

Direction of
Airplanes

Effect

Eastbound

Westbound

Gravitational

144 +/- 14

179 +/- 18

Kinematic

-184 +/- 18

96 +/- 10

Net

-40 +/- 23

275 +/- 21

The actual data is as
follows: the eastbound clocks lost 59 +/- 10 nanoseconds and the
westbound clocks gained 273 +/- 7 nanoseconds.The authors felt the experiment was very
successful - and it was.

Note especially that
the atomic clocks in the westbound plane actually operated at a faster rate
than the stationary clock due to kinematic effects, but that the eastbound
plane operated at a slower rate than the stationary clock due to kinematic
effects.Direction had no affect on the
gravitational part of their predictions except that the jets flying westbound
must have flown at a different average altitude (no doubt higher) than the jets
that flew eastbound.Or other factors
could have come into play, such as latitude.

Now let's elaborate
on why the rotation of the earth was the real issue behind the importance of
the direction the airplanes flew.

A drawing in an
article by Hafele, which was undoubtedly sent to the publisher before his
experiments were performed in October of 1971, clearly demonstrates what he
meant by his "nonrotating observer looking down on the North Pole from a
great distance."[9] This same
drawing explains why direction was so important.I will describe the same concepts using the center of the earth
as the "at rest" reference point.Actually, any point on the elongated, imaginary axis of the earth could
have been used as the "at rest" reference point.

If a nonrotating
person were sitting at the center of the earth looking up at the stars (let us
assume the earth is hollow), the person would think he is stationary and that a
stationary atomic clock sitting on the surface of the earth was in motion.From the North Pole the earth rotates
counterclockwise.From the center of
the earth the person would be at the center of a rotating disk (the equator
would represent the edge of the disk), and the stationary atomic clock would
appear to move in a direction defined to be "east."

For example, using
"round numbers” (i.e. approximations in order to focus on concepts),
suppose the earth rotated at exactly 1,000 mph on the equator.If a nonrotating person were sitting at the
center of the earth looking up at the stars, a stationary atomic clock on the
equator would appear to be traveling at 1,000 mph eastbound due to the rotation
of the earth.It would look much like a
satellite.

Thus, if the
westbound jet traveled at 350 mph, on the equator, then the person at the
center of the earth would see the westbound clock moving at 650 mph eastbound.That is, the earth would rotate the
westbound jet at 1,000 mph eastbound, but the westbound clock and jet would fly
westbound at 350 mph, thus giving a net velocity of 650 mph eastbound
(1,000 mph east minus 350 mph west).

Because the clocks in
the westbound plane appear to move slower than the stationary clock (650 mph
eastbound versus 1,000 mph eastbound), relative to this observer, according to
the SR, the clocks in the westbound plane would operate at a faster rate (i.e.
faster actual time) than the stationary clock.That is what Hafele and Keating observed.

Likewise, to a person
at the center of the earth, the eastbound plane (i.e. the clocks in the
eastbound plane) would appear to be moving at 1,350 mph (1,000 mph rotation of
the earth velocity plus 350 mph ground velocity, both eastbound).Thus, the eastbound clocks would operate
more slowly than the stationary clock because of their faster relative
velocity.This is also what was
observed.

What their
experiments prove is that a jet airplane's velocity and direction have a
predictable affect on "actual time" changes recorded by atomic clocks
inside of the airplanes.Planes that
fly eastbound decrease their "actual time" and planes that fly
westbound increase their "actual time," both relative to a
"stationary" atomic clock.But remember that the "stationary" clock is also in motion
relative to the center of the earth.For now I am ignoring the factors that involve general relativity,
namely altitude.

Hafele and Keating
applied the special relativity formulas to two types of coordinate
systems.The first type was the
nonrotating "at rest" coordinate system which consisted of a point on
the extended axis of the earth ("a nonrotating point high above the North
Pole").According to Einstein, the
axis of a rotating disc should be the one and only "at rest"
reference frame of a rotating disc.[12]This was not in his original 1905 paper, but
it came later.Thus, Hafele and Keating
used a point on the axis of the rotating earth as their "at rest"
reference frame.

The second type of
coordinate system was the atomic clocks, which were part of the
experiments.Each atomic clock, even
the stationary clock, was considered to be a coordinate system that was in
motion relative to the "at rest" reference frame, or reference point
to be more accurate.In the original SR
there was only one type of coordinate system, the objects in the experiment,
and the "at rest" reference frame was any of those objects.

Introduction to Ether and the H-K

If we consider
Michelson's model of ether drag, since all of the ether inside the ether drag
is at rest, and does not rotate with the earth, the axis of the rotating earth
is at rest because it is not in motion relative to the ether drag.In other words, the axis of the earth is not
spinning with the earth (it is the center of a rotating disc), thus it is not
in motion relative to ether drag.Thus,
the velocity of all objects relative to the stationary ether in the ether drag has
the same velocity (of these objects) relative to the axis of the rotating
earth.Thus, the special relativity
"at rest" reference frame is effectively the same as the ether drag
"at rest" reference frame (i.e. the ether drag itself).In fact, Hafele and Keating could have used
either the PRM (Photon/Relativity Model) "at rest" reference frame or
the "bubble" of ether drag and the velocity of the objects in their
ambient ether.

If ether causes
resistance to the SLAC electrons, it also caused resistance to atoms inside of
the atomic clocks.Exactly how the
ether might affect the frequency of the atomic clocks is not known, but most
likely it has to do with resistance to the cesium atom electrons (which would
be more affected by the ether than the very heavy nucleus).The velocity of an atomic clock, relative to
the stationary ether, will have a direct affect on how much resistance is
experienced by the cesium atoms.Thus,
if the jet goes "relatively" faster in the ether drag (i.e. faster in
the ambient ether) the atoms will be affected by additional resistance and the
frequency change will cause "actual time" to slow down.It the airplane goes "relatively"
slower in the ether drag the clocks will speed up because of lessened resistance.

The H-K experiment is
very similar to the SLAC experiment, in the sense that ether is causing
resistance to electrons, but there are two differences.The first difference is that in the H-K each
electron is part of an atom.The second
difference is more complex and needs some explanation.

In the SLAC, the velocity
of the electrons could be controlled by human beings by simply increasing or
decreasing the amount of energy that was applied to the electromagnets.When an electron is attached to an atom,
that is not possible to do in the same kind of way.

When an electron is
attached to an atom, it is generally assumed by scientists that the electrons
in atoms move at the same velocity at all times.Suppose an electron has resistance applied to it.In order for this electron to maintain the
same velocity in the atom, there must be something in the atom that detects
the change in resistance and there must be some mechanism in the atom that can
physically change the energy to the electron so that the
electron can maintain a constant velocity.The energy must be added, if resistance is increased, or must be
reduced, if resistance is reduced.

For example, let us
suppose one person spins a globe.Suppose another person pushes their hand against the globe causing
resistance to the globe's surface.In
order for this globe to continue spinning at a constant velocity the resistance
must first be detected and then another force must offset the resistance to the
globe's surface.The same thing must
happen in an atom if an electron is to spin at a fixed velocity.But there is nothing in an atom to detect a
change in resistance and there is nothing, that we know of, that can adjust the
energy to the electron so that it will spin at the same velocity.

The only logical
conclusion to draw is that when the resistance to electrons increases or
decreases, the electrons physically slow down or speed up, respectively, and
the "time" measured by the atomic clock slows down or speeds up,
respectively.

Even if an airplane
were flying such that the ambient ether wind was zero (i.e. it was flying
westbound at the exact rotation speed of the earth), ether would still be
surrounding each atom and would still be providing resistance to the
electrons.In other words, ether is always
applying resistance to electrons, even if the atoms are "at rest"
relative to their ambient ether.

However, if one
airplane is flying slower than another airplane, relative their ambient ether,
the slower plane (i.e. the atoms in the slower plane) will experience less
resistance due to the ether than the faster plane.This means that its electrons will be moving faster and its time
will measure time faster.Note that the
electrons in human bodies experience resistance to ether, thus "actual
time" as measured by human beings would also speed up and slow down,
though such a change could not be measured at the velocities of jet airplanes.

In summary, if there
are three planes, and they are all moving at different velocities, relative to
their ambient ether, they will measure time differently.The slowest plane, relative to ambient
ether, will measure the fastest time and the fastest plane, relative to ambient
ether, will measure the slowest time.

(Note: In this book I
talk about electrons physically "speeding up" and "slowing
down."This is based on the model
of atoms currently in use.Should the
model of atoms change, such as the discovery of "ether drag" at the
atomic level, or the discovery of some new type of substance that surrounds
each atom and stores the energy in atoms, the concept of "speeding up"
and "slowing down" could very easily become outdated.)

(Note: I should also
mention that it has been shown that all atomic clocks on the surface of the
earth experience the same "actual time," even for atomic clocks at
different latitudes.In simplistic
terms, the gravitational differences on the surface of the earth offset the
kinematic differences on the surface of the earth due to latitude.[18])

As mentioned in
Chapter 1, the concept of "relative reference frames," that every
reference frame can be considered to be "at rest," is false (i.e. it
is false to claim that every reference frame can be considered "at
rest" relative to any other reference frame).Every reference frame must be compared to its ambient ether,
which is essentially a local URF or local ARF.Ether, of course, is not uniformly stationary throughout the universe,
thus the concept of "ambient ether" has yet to be well understood.

In the "old
SR" any two moving reference frames could be directly
compared to each other.In the ether theory,
two reference frames can only be compared to each other indirectly,
meaning each reference frame must first be compared to its ambient ether and
then it can be calculated how the two reference frames relate to each other
indirectly.It is a two step
process.First, determine how each
reference frame compares to its ambient ether, then step two is to compare the
two reference frames indirectly to each other.Thus the ether theory has no problems with the "clock paradox"
or the "twin paradox."

(Note: What if the
ether surrounding an atom were removed (physically or effectively) and the atom
was sitting in an ether vacuum?Would
its electrons spin so fast that they would literally fly off of the atom or
would the electrons collapse into the nucleus?This, and many other questions, are very interesting to think about with
respect to ether.)

(Note: It is also
possible that it is the ether that is causing the electrons to
spin in the first place, either directly or indirectly, by applying energy to the
atom.I have often wondered how
electrons get their energy.In other
words, why is it that electrons can continuously spin around a nucleus for
billions of years?Where does their
energy come from, meaning how does an electron spin at roughly the same speed
for billions of years?The answer is
certainly not inertia.It is not likely
that a nucleus contains enough energy to support its electrons for that length
of time.Something from outside
of the atom probably supplies the energy to either the nucleus or to the
electron during the lifetime of an atom.It is very logical to think that this outside energy source is
ether.This would imply, and ponder
this carefully, that the ether might be an energy source!Alternatively, it is possible some source of
energy elsewhere in the universe is transmitting energy through the medium of
ether.It has been stated by multiple
people that in a vacuum, even the size of a coffee cup, there is an enormous
amount of energy.It is clear that
Tesla tapped into that energy source, though to what degree this is true is not
clear.)

What is the Direction of the Ether Wind?

In this first example
imagine you are sitting on a flatbed train car.Suppose there is no wind and you are sitting perfectly
still.Suppose the train, and you, are
facing east and that the train is moving at 60 kph.You will feel a 60 kph wind in your face.Now let us suppose the train, and you, are
facing east, but the train is not moving.In what direction would the wind have to move in order for you to have
exactly the same wind in your face?The
answer, of course, is westbound.If
both you and the train are facing eastbound and are stationary, and if a 60 kph
wind is moving to the west, you will have the same feeling on your face as if there
were no wind and the train were moving eastbound at 60 kph.

In this second
example remember that with ether drag, the earth rotates underneath the ether
in the ether drag.Let us compare this
second example to the first example.The motionless wind in the first example is equivalent to the motionless
ether in the second example.Suppose
you are facing east in both examples.Now let us compare the moving train in the first example to the rotating
(surface of the) earth in the second example.In other words, just as the moving train pushes you trough the
motionless air, the rotating earth is pushing us through the motionless ether
because the earth rotates underneath the motionless ether.If you could feel the ether wind (which you
can't), and you were on the equator, you would feel it hit your face at a 1,600
kph clip.Therefore, in what direction
does the ether wind effectively move?Just as in the first example, it effectively moves westbound.

Even though the ether
is motionless, or almost motionless, the rotation of the earth through this
ether has the same effect as if the earth were stationary and the ether was
moving at 1,600 kph westbound on the equator.

Now let us consider
the jet airplanes in the H-K.The
westbound flights would have been flying in the same direction as the ether
wind, causing less resistance (than a stationary clock) and would measure
faster time (than a stationary clock).Likewise, when the flights were headed eastbound, they would have been
flying into the ether wind, thus causing more resistance and slowing time down.

Since we are assuming
that the earth rotates at exactly 1,000 mph at the equator, an atomic clock on
the equator would have the equivalent of a 1,000 mph ether wind applied to
it.The westbound clock would be flying
with the ether wind, thus its speed relative to ambient ether would be 650 mph
(1,000 mph minus 350 mph since both the wind and plane are moving in the same
direction).The eastbound clock would
be flying into the ether wind, thus its speed relative to ambient ether would
be 1,350 (1,000 mph plus 350 mph because they are moving in opposite
directions).These are the same
simplified numbers we calculated above.

Thus the ether theory
makes exactly the same predictions as the SR as to whether the clocks speed up
or slow down relative to a stationary clock, and by how much.This should not come as a surprise because
both the H-K "at rest" reference frame and the ether drag reference
frame generate exactly the same coordinate system.

Assuming the ether
drag theory, the H-K proves the existence of the ether wind and it proves that
the earth rotates underneath the ether drag as stated by Michelson!